Famous Movies Shot in Brazil

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Brazil is the most populous countries in South America with over 201 million people. It also has one of the most celebrated movie industries throughout the developing world having produced some fine cult classics that have been a box office smash in the USA and UK. Aside from these well-known films, Hollywood has also taken to recording big budget movies in the country. Utilising its urban sprawl and areas of tropical rainforest, Brazil has a varied topography that could pass for several other countries.

1. City of God

City of God
City of God

Perhaps the biggest Brazilian film of all time is a cult classic crime drama about the growth of organised crime in Rio de Janeiro between the 1960s and 1980s. Adapted from the novel of the same name, it is based on actual events of drug lords engaged in a war on the streets of the city. The film is famous for its approach of using (then) amateur actors from the favelas in the production in order to get a real feel for street life in Cidade de Deus ‘ the district of Rio where the film is set.

2. Black Orpheus

Black Orpheus
Black Orpheus

This cult 1959 film also uses the favelas as a backdrop for the tale. It is a modern retelling of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice set during the Carnivale. Orfeo is engaged to be married to Mira when he meets and falls in love with Eurydice. However, the new woman is being stalked and has fled her home village to escape. When his fiancé learns of the affair, she becomes enraged, pursuing Eurydice. Black Orpheus was filmed entirely in the favelas of Rio.

3. The Expendables

The Expendables
The Expendables

This big budget Hollywood action film was set and filmed in Brazil and brought together many of the action heroes of the 1980s and 1990s in a single action piece. Production used a number of sites in the country including Rio de Janeiro, Mangaratiba, Niteroi, Guanabara Bay, Colônia Juliano Moreira and Parque Lage utilising the diverse nature of the country’s topography. It was about a group of mercenaries hired to take back a vessel that had been seized by Somali pirates.

4. Fast 5

Fast 5
Fast 5

The fifth in the series of The Fast and The Furious movies about the illegal racing and theft of prestige cars stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. This film moves away from the racing aspect and focuses more on the heist aspect of the earlier films. This change was brought about to expand the audience as the series drove on. Most of the film is set and filmed primarily in Rio de Janeiro and the crew spent a lot of time there understanding the city and Brazilian culture to add a touch of authenticity.

5. The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk

The part reboot and part sequel starring Edward Norton in the role of Bruce Banner starts in a Brazilian factory where the scientist is attempting to hide from the forces that are pursuing him. In the previous film, Eric Bana had escaped and was living in the Amazon rainforest. By the time of this second film, he has partially come out of hiding and has taken another identity. Banner is tracked down after a batch of soft drinks is found to have been contaminated with his blood.

6. Kiss of the Spiderwoman

Kiss of the Spiderwoman
Kiss of the Spiderwoman

This classic Brazilian film is set in a prison and tells the very different stories of two men who share a cell. One was a leftist revolutionary and imprisoned for sedition. The other is a homosexual and was imprisoned for having a relationship with an underage boy. He is also a Neo-Nazi and their political differences are a source of conflict. It is eventually revealed that the latter man was sent into the prison by the Secret Police to befriend the former in order to obtain information from him.

7. Moonraker

Moonraker
Moonraker

Bond films are known for travelling all over the world and this one was no exception. This marked the midway point of Roger Moore’s career in the lead role. The ‘Moonraker’ is a privately owned space shuttle that is loaned to the British government and stolen in transit. It sends its best man to investigate and Bond follows the trail around the globe, ending up in Brazil ‘ visiting Rio de Janeiro and parts of the Amazon rainforest. In one scene, Bond is seen travelling along the Amazon River looking for the private research facility. In another, he is travelling in a cable car at Sugarloaf Mountain.

8. Turistas

Turistas
Turistas

A little known horror film follows a group of international backpackers travelling to Brazil, it starts with American tourists deciding against flying and instead travelling by bus. When the bus breaks down and they are stranded, they meet an Australian and two British travellers. They all go to a local Cabana bar and are drugged. After accepting help from a local, they are taken into the forest where they are caught up in a black market of farmed organs. Referred to as the Brazilian ‘Hostel’ Turistas met with mixed reactions.

9. Vera

Vera
Vera

This entirely Brazilian film chronicles the life of Brazilian transsexual Anderson Bigode Herzer. Born female and named Vera at birth, the film starts during his teenage years in a young people’s correctional facility (FEBEM) in São Paulo. It shows him writing a book of verses about his troubled young life ‘ his father was violently killed and his mother soon died afterward. Initially identifying as a lesbian, he chose to adopt a male name and lifestyle. He would die at aged 20 after committing suicide, jumping from a viaduct in the city.

10. Senna

Senna
Senna

Though this film is not about Brazil, no list of films about the country would be complete without a mention of its greatest racing driver, Ayrton Senna. This is a documentary about his Formula 1 racing career and his rivalry with Alain Prost. Senna made his Formula 1 debut in the 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix and died tragically at San Marino in 1994 following cataclysmic rule changes. It was the blackest weekend in the sport’s history with the death of Roland Ratzenberger and serious injury to Rubens Barichello (also a Brazilian national).

Conclusion

The selection of films above demonstrates the multitude of films that have been produced in Brazil, about Brazil and showing elements of Brazilian life, history and culture. Though most productions centre on the primary cities of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and the Amazon rainforest, there is enough material to continue to explore this interesting country.

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